Here
in the grim library section of Classic-Horror.com, I have thus far
delved into written works of fiction both short and long. It is my
mission to discuss varying mediums of the written word, everything
from novels, plays, and comic books. This week's selection is the
first in one of my mad experiments in the realm of the graphic arts.

Hellboy
is somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. Starting out as a mere sketch
by artist Mike
Mignola,
the character has developed and changed over the years since that
first conception. Hellboy is now a force in the comic
book industry
to be reckoned with and one of the luminaries of the fabulous comic
book company
Dark Horse. Being no stranger to graphic
novels,
I eagerly awaited for the moment I could begin reading Hellboy:
Seed of Destruction. As a fan of horror and comic books, I was sufficiently rewarded.(read more...)

One of my favorite comedians is Stephen Fry, for his work on the sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie as well as the eternally amusing quiz program QI. So it was with much glee that I discovered a little nugget entitled "The Letter", which reveals that Fry had done some work in the horror genre during his time with Cambridge Footlights. Check it out after the cut.(read more...)

Eli Roth's directorial debut, Cabin
Fever, serves as homage to road-trip horror films that calls to
mind the numerous works that came before it (The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, Evil Dead), and there exists a certain
ironic disposition to the film since we, the audience, cannot help
but think of all those other films instead of this one.(read more...)

Gather
around, everyone. I have a tale to tell you. It may shock you. It
might even horrify
you. But fear not, my dear readers. We have the safety of the
crackling fire and the roof over our heads to protect us from the
night's terrible wrath. You may have heard this story before.
Perhaps from a family member or a friend of a friend. For those of
you who have yet to hear this little shocker, you may wish you never
had...(read more...)

A few months ago, Robert Ring (editor-in-chief of The Sci-Fi Block and a Classic-Horror contributing writer) and I fired up our respective Skypes to record a lengthy discussion on the merits of one of my favorite films, James Whale's The Invisible Man. Now that conversation has been posted online for all to hear. I had a lot of fun doing the podcast, especially in support of what I consider to be a sister site to Classic-Horror.com. Give it a listen, if only to hear me do an atrocious impersonation of Boris Karloff.

Also, while you're there, take a gander at the Block's new design, whipped up by yours truly.

It is common knowledge that the
main marketing demographic
for action films is the (heterosexual) male moviegoer.
Arguably, John McTiernan's 1987 action-filled, sci-fi horror
blockbuster, Predator, is one of the most
testosterone-driven features in
cinematic history. Not only is this
retelling of Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" fraught with
many
of the genre's trademarks -- hyperkinetic movement and pacing, rampant
masochism, violent death, and a plethora of gunfire -- it contains only
one
female performance. Alongside such
works as McTiernan's own Die Hard,
Zach Snyder's 300, John Boorman's Deliverance,
Don Siegel's Dirty Harry, David
Fincher's Fight Club, Ted
Kotcheff's First Blood, Ridley
Scott's Gladiator, Quentin
Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, and
James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment
Day, Predator is often considered
the arche(read more...)

Freaks, Tod Browning's peek behind the curtains of a circus sideshow, was greeted with disgust and outrage on its initial release due to its unflinching portrayal of disability, as well as its gruesome ending, (and was not helped by the lurid title and marketing campaign – "Can a full grown woman truly love a MIDGET?"). MGM quickly disowned the film, letting it sink into semi-mythical obscurity, but the last 40 years or so have seen a massive upswing in both the popularity and reputation of Freaks. If you can look past its notoriety, it paints a largely compassionate picture of the title characters, and has an amazing and inflammatory message of the downtrodden and mocked violently getting one up over the beautiful people.(read more...)

See the swashbuckling hero smite out evil with the blade
of his holy sword! Witness the evil doings of nefarious French
criminals and diabolical African warlords! Shiver at the sight of the
dead returning from their graves to the beat of voodoo drums as they
shamble forth into the mysterious void of the night world! All these
thrilling adventures await you in Robert E. Howard's tale of
vengeance and bare-chested action that succeeds in both boiling the
blood and chilling the flesh.(read more...)

Within the nature run amok sub-genre there is a specific type of film in which animals not only go on the rampage, they do so en masse. The Food of the Gods, Day of the Animals, and Frogs are all textbook examples of this variation in form. As with any category of films there are common plot elements which help define these features. In general these include a group of people who, for various reasons, leave their normal environment for a remote isolated location, and some kind of motivating factor that causes the animal's aggressions. These factors can include pollution, corporate greed, and even military testing. Although director Colin Eggleston's Long Weekend follows this basic structure the film differentiates itself by making minor adjustments to the formula, and displaying a higher than usual level of talent not only in front of the camera, but behind it as well.(read more...)

When we sleep, why is it so easy for our dreams to
descend into nightmares? Why is our first reaction to a sudden pain
to laugh at the sensation? Everything that exists seems to overlap
into the next, breaking the barriers. The world of fantasy is just a
breath away from reality, phantoms eagerly pressing in around the
corners of our lives until they crack. Perhaps one of the most
terrifying things about Clive Barker's novella "The Hellbound
Heart" is that it reveals to us (and revels in) the symbiotic
relationship between pain and pleasure, light and darkness, and the
toll that it takes on our souls.(read more...)